Deep-Fried Asp

 

For the following recipe, you can also use any large fish of the carp family. Fillet the asp (Leuciscus aspius) by making an incision along the backbone without cutting the ribs out from the backbone. Slide the knife along the surface of the bones and cut out the side fillets from the inner part of the fish. If you wish, you can remove the muscle bones in the back. Locate the tips of the muscle bones and cut along the line of bones until the Y forks of the muscle bones (1 in the figure below). Turn the blade and run it parallel to the bones in the direction of the back, and you will be able to cut out a boneless fillet extending the length of the fish's back (1b in the figure). Cut out the muscle bone fillet by making an incision from the lateral line towards the underside of the muscle bones and cut out the fillet (2 in the figure). Cut out the fillet with bones near the tail (3 in the figure). You can grind these fillets with bones and use them for fish balls or patties. Cut the boneless fillets into long, finger-sized strips and sprinkle them with some salt.

 

Batter

100 ml wheat flour

100 ml breadcrumbs

100 ml semolina

1 egg

½–1 l canola oil for deep-frying

100 ml toasted sesame oil

 

Sour cream sauce

200 ml sour cream

Juice and zest of half a lime

Salt

Fresh chopped parsley and chives

 

Roll the fish strips in the wheat flour. Mix in a whisked egg. Mix the breadcrumbs and semolina together, pour over the fish and deep-fry the fish in a pot in small batches. You can also fry the fish a pan with plenty of oil - in this case, turn the fish over every now and then. Use medium-high heat (oil temperature should be 170–180°C). Be careful when cooking with hot oil! Serve the fish with sour cream sauce and chili sauce.

 

Asp (Leuciscus aspius)

- Optimal foodfish size: 1–2 kg
- Thrives in the sea, lakes and rivers
- Runs up to spawn in river estuaries and strong currents
- Asp is a predatory fish that can easily be caught with jigs, small spoons or plugs

 

Use

 

- Tasty and low-fat

- For curing and sushi - no risk of worms!

- Best prepared by frying or smoking

- Fillet by cutting along the backbone without cutting the ribs. You can get a boneless fillet by removing the muscle bones:

 

You can get a boneless fillet by removing the muscle bones.

 

Underutilized, delicious and prized fish

All wild fish must be frozen at -20°C for +1 day before raw consumption.

Text and images: Sakke Yrjölä